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(No Mode1.) Q I V Y I 2Sheets-Sheet I. E. ROAT,.A. K; McKEE & H. HAMLIN.

OONVERTER FOR Gown-Mine STAROH INTO GLUCOSE.

No. 259,050. Patented June 6. 1882.

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E. ROAT,A. K. MQKEE & H. HAMLIN. CONVERTER FOR. CONVERTING STARGH INTO GLUCOSE.

N0.Z59,050. I PaLtentedJune'6,188Z.-

M H 35 L I h i :2 WITNESSES: INVENTORS N. FUCHS. Phul mlllhngnpher. wumn m. Dv t;

? I UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

EDWIN BOAT, ALLEN K. MCKEE, AND HARRY HAMLIN, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO sAID H MLIN.

CONVE RTER FOR CONVERTING STARCH INTO GLUCOSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,050, dated June 6, 1882.

Application filed April 24, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, EDWIN BOAT, ALLEN K. MOKEE, and HARRY HAMLIN, all of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have made an invention of certain new and useful Improvements in Converters for Converting Starch into Glucose by the Aid of Heat; andv We do hereby declare that" the following, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description'and specification of the same.

The principal objects of the present improvements are to facilitate the cleansing of the test-pipe, to enable the converted material to be discharged effectually without risk of the discharge-valve being injured by means of rigid articles which are accidentally mixed with the starch, andto enable the operation of conversion to be conducted with facility and rapidity. 1

To these ends our improvements consist of certaincombinations of devices which are set forth in the claims at the close of this specification. In order that these combinations may be fully understood, we will proceed, wi'ththe aid of the accompanying drawings, to describe a converter embodying our improvements in the best form thus far devised by us, it bei'ng understood that the form of the parts maybe varied as circumstances or the views of the different constructers or users render expedient.

Figure 1 of the said drawings represents a side view of the said converter. Fig. 2 represents a top view of the same with the internal steam-pipe represented in dotted lines. Fig. 3 represents a central vertical section of the converter and blow-off tank hereinafter de-. scribed.

The shell or body A of the said converter is by preference constructed of acylindrical form, with bulging heads, steam-tight, and of copper sufficiently thick to withstand the internal pressure to which it is subjected in practical use. Within this closed converter, near its lower end, there .is arranged a perforated steam-coil, B, for the purpose of supplying the steam by means of which the contents of the converter are heated. Steam is admitted to this coil through the steam-inlet pipe 0, which.

passes through the cylindrical wall of the converter, and is provided with a globe-valve, by means of which the flow of steam can be regulated and shutofl.

The converter represented in the drawings has a diameter of five feet and aheight of ten feet, and, as it is most convenient for the operator-to be stationed near the top of the converter, the latter in practice is passed through a floor upon which the operator stands; and in order that the steam-valve may be conveniently operated its stem is provided with a long handle, 01, which is extended upward in a convenient position for operation near the upper end of the converter.

In order that steam may be permitted to escape from the converter when it is desirable that the heat of the contents thereof should not exceed the temperature of boiling at the atmospheric pressure, the upper end of the 7 converter is provided with the steam-outlet pipe F, which is fitted with a globe-valve, f.

The upper end of the converter is fitted with an inlet-pipe, G, by means of which the starchliquor or the acid, or both, arepermitted to flow into it, and this inlet-pipe is fitted with a globe-valve, h.

The upper end of the converter is fitted also with a safety-valve, I, the weight upon which may be regulated according to the pressure which it is desired should not be exceeded.

In order that the contents of the converter may be readily tested, two test-cocks. J J, are provided. 'One of these test-cocks, J, communicates directly with the converter by being screwed intoits cylindrical body. The other,

J, is for the purpose of testing the contents of the lower portion of the converter, and for this purpose it is connected with a test-cock pipe,

K, which is arranged at one side of the converter and communicates with the lower end thereof. In order that this test-cock pipe may be readily cleansed the steam cleaning-pipe L is provided. This pipe is connected with the upper end of the test-cock pipe, and is provided 9 5 with a valve, m, so that steam may at any time be blown through the test-cock pipe for the purpose of removing its contents and cleansing it, thus enabling a correct sample of the contents of the lower end of the converter [00 to be drawn therefrom by closing the steamvalve m and opening the test-cock J. This improved system for cleansing the test-pipe is applicable to open converters as well as to closed converters.

In order that the contents of the closed couverter may be discharged freefrom such heavy solid articles as maybe accidentally introduced with the starch-liquor, the blow-off pipe N is provided. This pipe extends centrally through the converter, and has its open lower end a short distance from the bottom thereof. Gonsequently all of the contents of the converter as low down as thelowerend of the said blowofl' pipe can be readily blown through it, while such heavy solid articlessuch as nails or pieces of ironwhich are sometimes accidentally mixed with the starch are left deposited in the bottom of the converter and do not lodge in the blow-off valve 1). In order that this blow-off pipe may be readily cleansed, two steam-pipes, Q R, are provided. One of these cleansing steam-pipes, Q, is connected with the blow-off pipe above the upper end of the converter, so that by theintroduction of steam when the blow-01f pipe is closed whatever starch-liquor there may be in the blow-off pipe may be blown downward and forced to mix with the starch-liquor in the converter. The supply of steam to this upper steam-cleansing pipe is controlled by the globe-valve s.

The other steam cleansing-pipe, R, for the blow-oft pipe N is arranged to enter the bottom of the converter and to project upward in the lower end of the blow-off pipe, so that steam may be introduced in an upward direction in the blow-off pipe for the purposes either of cleansing the same or of assisting the upward flow of the contents through it while they are being discharged from the converter. This lower blowoff pipe, R, is fitted with a globe-valve, t.

The converter is further fitted with a manhole and man-hole plate, U, and with a steamgage, V, so that the pressure of steam within the converter, and consequently the temperature which corresponds with such pressure, in ay be readily observed and regulated.

In order that the contents of the converter which are discharged therefrom may be collected without material loss, the blow-off tank E is provided. This tank is arranged by preference in a loft considerably higher than the converter, so that the contents of the converter may be raised to a high level in the sugarhouse, whence they can descend by gravitation to have other operations efi'ected upon them. This blow-off tank is closed at the top, with the exception of a vent pipe, j, which is conducted by preference through the roof of the sugar-house and permits the steam to pass off. The discharge end of the blow-off pipeis turned downward into the blow-oft tank E, and is perforated, so that the liquid is discharged in small jets. The perforated portion of the discharge-pipe is surrounded by deflecting-plates a, which deflect the jets of liquor in a downward direction, and thus obstruct its passage toward the upper part of the discharge-tank and the carrying off of the liquor with the steam escaping through the ventpipe. The liquor collected in the bottom of the blow-off tank E may be drawn off at intervals by means of a pipe and stop-cock or valve; or it may be permitted to flow at once through an open pipe into a tank arranged below the level of the blow-off pipe. In the latter case we prefer to turn the vent-pipe j downward into the lower tank and to apply a second vent-pipe to the lower tank to conduct the steam to the exterior of the sugar-house.

When the converter is empty and clean the starch-liquor is admitted through the inletpipe G either mixed with the acid or separately therefrom, the acid in the latter case' being preferably let in before the starch-liquor. Steam may at the same time be introduced through the perforated steam-coil B, so as to heat the starch-liquor as it enters. The excess of steam and any air there may be in the converter are permitted to escape during the inlet of starch through the steam-outlet F.

When the charge of starch-liquor and acid is introduced the starch-inlet valve h is closed, and if the liquor is to be boiled at a temperature not exceeding its boiling-point under the atmospheric pressure, the steam-outlet is left open, while the steam for heating the contents of the converter continues to be introduced through the steam-inlet pipe 0.

When the contents of the converter are to be heated to a temperature higher than that of boiling under the atmospheric pressure, the steam-outlet F is closed and the pressure within the converter is permitted to rise, while steam is introduced by the steam-inlet pipe 0 to the desired degree, as determined by observing the steam-gage V and by regulating the inlet of steam by the steam-valve b.

The condition of the liquor within the converter can at any time he tested by the testcocks J J, care being taken to cleanse the test-pipe K of the latter cock by the introduction of steam by means of the steam-pipe L before each test.

The contents of the blow-off pipe should also be discharged at intervals in a downward direction by steam admitted through the pipe Q, so that they may become mixed with the mass in the converter.

When the contents have been converted to the desired extent the valve of the blow-off pipe N is opened and the contents of the converter are discharged in an upward direction into the blow-off tank E, to which the blow-01f pipe conveys them.

After the discharge the blow-ofl' pipe may be thoroughly cleansed by admitting steam into it by means of the lower steam-cleaning pipe, It, and, if necessary, steam may be admitted through this pipe during the discharge to facilitate the upward movement of the liquor.

We claim as our invention- 1. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the converter, the test-pipe there of, and the steam-pipe for cleansing said testplpe.

2. The combination, substantially as before pipe thereof, and the steam-pipe, combined with the lower end of said blow-off pipe.

5. The combination, substantially as before set forth, oftheclosed converter, the dischargepipe thereof, leading in an upward direction, and the blow-oft tank, located above the level of the converter.

6. The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the closed converter, the blow-oft pipe thereof, the blow-ofi' tank,-and the guard at the discharge end of said blow-offpipe.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 29th day. of March, A. D. 1882.

, EDWIN BOAT.

ALLEN K. MoKEE. HARRY HAMLIN. Witnesses WM. H. THORNTON, W. S. ELLIOTT. 

